Godfrey B. Valorsworn
Character History Early Life Godfrey was born on a farmstead in Western Darrowmere forest (currently Western Plaguelands) in Lordaeron, near the border to the Tirisfal Glades during the early years of the terrible First War. His life began simple. He fulfilled the role of a farm-boy aiding his parents, Gilderan and Maria Bedford, on their stead. Early on in his life he met his uncle, Gillespie Darethan, his father Gilderan's brother, who was a Knight of some rank in the kingdom’s military. Stories told by the older man to the boy inspired an interest in Knighthood in young Godfrey. When he reached the age of five, having trained with the sword in the years that followed (albeit sub-par), he and his family were forced to live behind the walls of Capital City when a threat to all life arose - the Orcish Horde. The Second War had begun. On the eighth summer of his life, the Second War had ended with the defeat of the forces of Orgrim Doomhammer’s Horde, and after three grueling years of waiting behind the capital's walls, the lives of the citizens of Lordaeron had begun to rebuild. Education The boy's uncle came to visit once more; this time, however, he seemed different as the air of valor and esteem around him as a Knight and soldier gave way to a profound calm and wisdom - he was a Paladin of the Order of the Silver Hand. Gilderan pleaded for Gillespie to take young Godfrey under his wing and give him a far better life than he would have on a farmstead, but Maria did not agree. Despite that, however, Godfrey was taken as Gillespie's squire and so began his training and education to become a Paladin-Knight of the Silver Hand. The first four years were spent teaching the boy how to read and write, history of the kingdom, and hands-on geography where both uncle and nephew rode out into the countryside. It was then that Godfrey received a horse he would later name Almaric and become a faithful steed in the years to come. The next six years were spent training the boy in the ways of the Silver Hand, formidable combat skills, as well as instilling in him a code of Honor and a great degree of faith in the Holy Light. He also came to witness a dire string of events, foremost of which were the exile of Lord Tirion Fordring, one of the five founding members of the original Order of the Silver Hand and governor of Hearthglen and learning of his mother's death to which he initially showed a great deal of regret. By the age of eighteen, Godfrey Alexander Bedford was ordained in the Alonsus Chapel in Stratholme and had chosen to take up the name 'Valorsworn' as a nom de guerre. Later, he performed his duties as a Knight of the Silver Hand amid personal vows and obligations. The Scourge and Exodus of Lordaeron and the Third War Godfrey was among the Knights present during the sortie to Hearthglen by order of Uther the Lightbringer at the behest of Prince Arthas Menethil where, by pure chance, he was forced to strike down his own mother, reanimated by the then-unknown plague and grieved her all through the evening after. At Stratholme, he bore witness as Arthas accuses Uther the Lightbringer of treason for refusing to cull the supposedly plagued inhabitants of the great city. In the months that follow, slaying the Undead with his brethren paladins and with the return and betrayal of Arthas, and the death of his uncle by the hands of the Scourge, Godfrey used his strength and effort to aid the remaining Knights of the Silver Hand as they protected the citizens unaffected by the Plague and struck down those who were. He watched in horror as the wayward prince slay his former mentor, Uther the Lightbringer, and took his father, King Terenas' urn. He had no choice but to make an exodus to Kalimdor by order of Lady Jaina Proudmoore. There, he made an effort for what remained of his people and helped them settle in the strange land. At the Battle for Mount Hyjal, he learned that orcs and humans could co-exist in a tolerant air and met new, yet reluctant allies in the xenophobic Night Elves. After the long war, Godfrey offered himself to help establish the port-base of Theramore then took a ship back to the Eastern Kingdoms and travelled to Lordaeron where, by a tragic twist of fate, he meets the Argent Dawn and learns of the fate of the Silver Hand and the esteemed Ashbringer, Alexandros Mograine. He would also find Alexandros' youngest, Darion Mograine, amid the Argent ranks. Later, he watched as the young man gathered to recruit volunteers to storm a then-unknown fortress floating high above Stratholme to save his father, or what was left of him. After the events that lead to the first Battle at Light's Hope against the legions of the Undead Scourge and the Archlich, Kel'thuzad, Godfrey moved south to the kingdom of Stormwind where he learned of the turmoil plaguing the kingdom. Appearance (Taken directly from the character's MyRoleplay(4.0.6) profile) His hair, thick and bright, drapes about his face like a waterfall or jet of flame, not groomed exactly to a noble's garish tastes, matched only by his beard; though trimmed enough to keep tidy, it gives the man a rugged appearance. Godfrey's eyes are a strong, steel blue; fierce, resolute, and look as though they had seen much... too much. He happens to scan his surroundings quite a bit, seemingly observant. His face, beginning to show some lines of age, is stoic and may give to others an impression of sternness and seriousness. Of what his built, muscular form shows--though covered mostly by armor--is fitting, taut and lightly tanned. He stands quite tall, but not too tall to be a looming figure. He smells faintly of washed, clean fabric; prominent though are the musky odor of leather, and the strong, distinct smell of iron - but, even then, it smelled... clean; pure. Personality Under Construction. Quotes - "I raise my hammer to defend the people of the Light and my hand to heal them." - "In Lightbringer's name, have at thee!"- spoken when charging into a battle against a foe. Combat Though having experienced the path of a healer in a civil environment, lifting his warhammer high with his libram open as he chants, channeling healing energy into a wounded ally or civilian in need; that of a defender, standing before oppressors to defend the meek and innocent with a shield in tow; Godfrey prefers to honor the Valorsworn namesake and take the role of an avenging Crusader, wading into the thick of battle, slamming fiercely into droves of enemies to break their formation and in tandem with formidable swings of his mighty warhammer, Light's Valor, to scatter them even more. With the lightness of his armor, given the lightforge iron used in its reforging, his stamina and strength are more focused on devastating momentum and ramming speed during a charge and the shattering arcs caused by his favored weapon. Most of these attacks have a tendency to knock lesser opponents off their feet if not force them to fly outward entirely. Despite the power put into his strikes, they are nothing more than basic attacks, although, he has been known to imbue such assaults with the Light's power, turning an already fearsome array of swings into the embodiment of righteous fury. When fighting living opponents, Godfrey makes it a priority to disarm his opponents first, opting to keep them alive but without the means to fight back. However, against Demons and Undead, it goes without saying that his attacks become a combination of Light-empowered holy strikes and exorcism magic granted by his Light-given powers, throwing mercy aside as creatures of wickedness and evil deserve none. In a situation against multiple undead or demonic opponents, he casts a chain-binding spell against the leader of the group and whittle down at the lesser ones with basic and, sometimes, Light-imbued attacks when fundamental techniques prove insufficient, leaving the leader figure alone for a skirmish. He has a tendency to keep to his teachings and to traditional Paladin combat tactics, content enough to wield the abilities and spells taught to him as a Knight of the Silver Hand and feels no need to improvise like his Templar brethren in the Argent Dawn (and even some younger Paladins in the new Order). Besides, "old-fashioned got the job done." (by Amtherion) Trivia *Godfrey is, obviously, one of the original Knights of the Silver Hand (albeit from a newer generation). *Godfrey's family name, prior to being ordained as Valorsworn, was Bedford. *To this day, Godfrey continues to maintain and wield the war-hammer given to him at his knighting ceremony. *Godfrey's war-hammer is called Light's Valor. *Godfrey's current armor (fashioned after Tier 6 Lightbringer) is reforged of lightforge iron using his old Silver Hand armor as the base which was battered during the Battle for Light's Hope Chapel and utterly broken when the Lich King appeared on the field at the turning point of the skirmish and cast a powerful Apocalypse spell that shattered his armor, which wounded him in the process and knocked him unconscious. *Having come to receive the Tabard of the Lightbringer from a senior Paladin, Balledor Lightbinder, Godfrey has achieved the rank of Master Paladin in the Order of the Silver Hand as of the current day. See also External links Godfrey Alexander Valorsworn Godfrey Alexander Valorsworn Category:Paladin Category:Knights of the Silver Hand Category:Argent Crusade